Description

With insight reminiscent of The Screwtape Letters, Rev. Louis J. Cameli challenges readers to reconsider what they've always believed about the devil. In some ways, it’s easy to believe in a devil who makes heads spin round and enables people to levitate. Many movies and books about possession and exorcism have trained spiritual seekers to identify evil by its expected Hollywood conventions. By contrast, in The Devil You Don't Know: Recognizing and Resisting Evil in Everyday Life, Cameli, nationally renowned pastoral leader and priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, paints a challenging, unsettling portrait of the devil as a formidable adversary who works great harm, often in quiet, less-seen ways.

While remaining a fixture of popular culture, the devil has—until now—been largely ignored in contemporary spiritual writing. Cameli exposes the devil’s tactics of deception, division, diversion, and discouragement, in individuals and also in institutions. This thoroughly biblical, deft exploration considers the personal and social dimensions of sin, and offers both enlightenment and hope in the power of Christ to overcome evil.

Praise

"Solid spiritual reading."

"Written in a wonderfully accessible style and drawing on sound pastoral judgment, this is a book less about fascination with the occult and much more about how to deal with the deceptions and discouragements of evil that we all encounter in our everyday lives. This is solid spiritual reading."

Donald Senior, C.P.President, Catholic Theological Union

"Unmasks the 'ordinary work' of the devil."

"With the skill of an experienced spiritual guide Fr. Louis Cameli unmasks the 'ordinary work' of the devil and shows us how new insights into scripture and a deepened friendship with Jesus Christ can assure our perseverance on the journey to the Abba-Mystery of God."

Agnes Cunningham, S.S.C.M.Professor Emerita, Mundelein Seminary

"A help to both preachers and spiritual directors."

"Louis Cameli’s book will be a help to both preachers and spiritual directors to trace destructive patterns as they emerge in an individual’s life or in world events."

Daniel CoughlinFormer ChaplainUS House of Representatives

Chasing the Devil Out of Your Parish: Recognizing and Resisting Evil in Everyday Parish Life